ST. LOUIS – The Maryville baseball team have taken their first series of Great Lake Valley Conference play in emphatic fashion. The Saints swept a doubleheader against Lincoln (Mo.) with identical 14-run outbursts, winning game one 14-7 before taking the nightcap 14-3.
 
The Saints pounded out 25 hits across the two games and used a pair of explosive middle innings to break both contests open.
 
GAME 1 | Maryville 14, Lincoln 7
Lincoln jumped out to an early lead, plating two runs in the second and three more in the third to take a 5-3 advantage. Maryville answered immediately behind the long ball.
 
In the second inning, Jace Burton launched a two-run homer to center to give the Saints their first lead of the afternoon. After Lincoln briefly reclaimed momentum in the third, Steven Schneider responded with a two-run homer of his own to tie the contest at 5-5.
 
The Saints seized control in the fourth with a massive eight-run inning. Capitalizing on a Lincoln error and a series of timely hits, Maryville pushed eight runs across, highlighted by Brady Kindhart's two-run homer and a two-run double by Matthew Rauser.
 
Maryville added another run in the fifth to reach the final tally of 14.
 
Schneider led the Saints offensively, going 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs, while Kindhart drove in three runs and Burton added two RBIs.
 
On the mound, Noah Leingang earned the win with two scoreless innings in relief, striking out three to close the game.
 
GAME 2 | Maryville 14, Lincoln 3
The Saints carried their offensive momentum into game two, scoring in four of the first five innings to secure the sweep.
 
Maryville struck first in the opening inning and then broke the game open in the third inning, plating six runs on five hits. The rally was capped by a three-run double from Burton that pushed the Saints' lead to 9-0.
 
Lincoln managed to scratch across three runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Maryville had already created plenty of separation.
 
Schneider again paced the Saints at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Greyson Rathgeb and Justin Gorski each contributed multi-hit performances.
 
Starter Ryan Hoshaw set the tone on the mound, tossing five innings while allowing just one run and striking out five to earn the victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Saints and Blue Tigers finish out the set tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Weber Baseball Field.